Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais How To Live the Good Life - Lessons From The Longest Study On Happiness | Dr. Robert Waldinger
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Nov 26, 2025 
Dr. Robert Waldinger, a Harvard psychiatrist and director of a landmark happiness study, reveals that investing in relationships is crucial for health and wellbeing. He explains the concepts of hedonic and eudaimonic happiness, emphasizing the importance of emotional connections over mere pleasure. Waldinger discusses the dangers of loneliness, likening it to smoking, and introduces 'social fitness' as a way to maintain relationships. Leaders are urged to foster connection at work, highlighting that nurturing meaningful relationships leads to a more fulfilling life.
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Relationships Build The Good Life
- The good life is built on human connection and health across the lifespan.
- Strong, sustained relationships predict greater happiness, better health, and longer life.
Practice Social Fitness Regularly
- Practice social fitness: reach out, make plans, and maintain contact regularly.
- Small actions like a text or a coffee keep relationships vibrant over time.
Connections Change Your Biology
- Relationships alter physiology by regulating stress and inflammation.
- Isolation keeps people in chronic fight-or-flight, raising cortisol and health risks.
